Accuracy of the ammunition is listed as an R50 of 1.1 inches at 25 meters (meaning the closest 50 percent of the shot group will all be within a circle 1.1 inches in diameter at 25 meters).

Like the Russians, the People’s Liberation Army of China has also recently adopted the 9x19mm cartridge. It’s chambered in the new QSZ-92 pistol. The standard issue load is an armor-piercing round designated DAP-92 9x19mm. Bullet weight is listed as 123 grains, and muzzle velocity is purported to be 1,181 fps.

Although the ballistics of this load appear rather ho-hum, the Chinese say its "compound core structure" (with a dual lead-and-steel core) provides enhanced penetration without the need for extreme velocity.

The Chinese claim this load will penetrate a 1.3mm-thick plate of 232 helmet steel and then two inches of wood planking at a distance of 50 meters. They also claim this load yaws quickly in soft tissue, thus improving terminal performance over a conventional 9x19mm FMJ or high velocity armor-piercing projectile. Accuracy of this load is good, with 20 rounds having an extreme spread of 2.3 inches at 25 meters.

Despite all the hoopla, I doubt the terminal performance of either the Russian 7N21 or Chinese DAP-92 will be any better than our M882 ball load. That said, the claimed penetration of Russia’s new 7N21 load is fairly impressive. If it proves capable of penetrating U.S. soft body armor, it would provide a real advantage over our own M882 ball round.

Strengths: available around the world, capable of excellent accuracy, relatively mild recoil, high magazine capacity and capable of penetrating soft body armor in specialized armor-piercing loadings.

Weaknesses: mediocre terminal performance with ball ammunition, standard ball ammunition unable to penetrate soft body armor.

.45 ACP
The big .45 ACP was developed in 1904 specifically to provide U.S. troops with a handgun cartridge possessing excellent terminal performance. Replaced in the 1980s, it still soldiers on with some special operations units. Driving a 230-grain .451-inch FMJ projectile at 830 fps, the .45 ACP is held in high regard by U.S. troops. When limited to FMJ projectiles, the .45 ACP still provides the best combination of terminal performance and recoil.

The weakness of this cartridge is its lack of penetration. Easily stopped by soft body armor in its standard FMJ loading, a specialized armor-piercing load would need to be fielded to enable it to defeat this obstacle. It’s unfortunate that everything that makes the .45 ACP perform well against an unarmored target works against it when facing soft body armor.

Strengths: good terminal performance with ball ammunition, excellent accuracy, easy to suppress.

Weaknesses: poor penetration, heavier than average recoil, heavy ammo.